Karen Plants, shown in March 2009, was prosecuted and convicted of misconduct after transcripts of secret meetings were found during Alexander Aceval's appeal. / Andre J. Jackson/Detroit Free Press

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Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

A federal judge vacated today the 2006 conviction of an accused drug dealer whose case triggered a perjury scandal involving a judge, the police and a Wayne County prosecutor who wound up in prison for lying to seal the conviction.

In vacating the sentence of Alexander Aceval of Farmington Hills, who has been imprisoned for eight years, U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow concluded Aceval was wrongfully tried twice for the same crime — in violation of his double jeopardy rights — and that his first trial “was a sham.”

“The bottom line here is that the prosecutor and trial judge conducted a sham trial that tilted the scales of justice strongly in favor of the prosecution,” Tarnow wrote.

Tarnow also ordered that Aceval be released from prison immediately.

Wayne County prosecutors were not available for comment.

According to court documents, Aceval’s case gained notoriety when it came to light that the police, prosecutor and trial judge “knowingly allowed witnesses to perjure themselves” at his first trial. Specifically, records show, a confidential informant who stood to gain as much as $100,000 from the prosecution was allowed to lie about his involvement in the case — he set up the bust. Police officers also were allowed to lie about their association with the informant, records show.

During the trial, the prosecutor, Karen Plants, went to the trial judge and, in a secret meeting, told her of the perjury. The meeting and the perjury were kept from the jury.

The perjury came to light when transcripts of secret meetings were found during Aceval’s appeal.

As a result of her conduct, Plants was prosecuted and convicted of misconduct. She was sentenced to six months in prison and disbarred. Additionally, two Inkster police officers pleaded guilty to neglect of duty and received 90-day jail sentences. The judge who oversaw the case, Mary Waterstone, retired and was reprimanded by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission.

Aceval’s attorney David Moffitt, who was tossed from the case before Aceval’s second trial, said he feels vindicated. He noted that Tarnow, in vacating the conviction, also concluded that his client was wrongfully denied a lawyer of his choice, in violation of his due process rights.

“This is an enormous decision in the criminal law community,” he said. “We feel vindicated after seven years of litigation. To have a federal court declare us to be right on every point restores my faith in the justice system, although I remain profoundly disturbed over how long it took to obtain relief.”